Sweet Memory (1995)

Box cover

Disc One: All At Once

1. Top of the World (1991 remix)
2. Sing (1994 remix)
3. You're the One
4. Beechwood 4-5789
5. One Love (1994 remix)
6. Those Good Old Dreams
7. Saturday
8. Happy
9. Don't Be Afraid
10. Sweet, Sweet Smile
11. You
12. There's a Kind of Hush (1985 remix)
13. All of My Life (1987 remix)
14. Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (1991 remix)
15. (They Long to Be) Close to You (1991 remix)

Disc Two: Those Days

1. Superstar (1991 remix)
2. When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)
3. Sometimes
4. One More Time
5. Make Believe It's Your First Time (single version)
6. Solitaire
7. Yesterday Once More (1985 remix)
8. Fun Fun Fun (1990 remix)
9. The End of the World (1990 remix)
10. Da Doo Ron Ron (1990 remix)
11. Deadman's Curve (1990 remix)
12. Johnny Angel (1990 remix)
13. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1990 remix)
14. Our Day Will Come (1990 remix)
15. One Fine Day (1990 remix)
16. Yesterday Once More (reprise)

Disc Three: On and Off

1. Only Yesterday
2. Ordinary Fool
3. Eve (1987 remix)
4. Help
5. I Won't Last a Day Without You (1991 remix)
6. Sandy
7. Touch Me When We're Dancing
8. Two Sides
9. Hurting Each Other (1990 remix)
10. Little Girl Blue
11. I Have You
12. Strength of a Woman
13. Slow Dance
14. Rainy Days and Mondays (1991 remix)
15. Goodbye to Love (1991 remix)

Disc Four: At Last

1. I Need to Be In Love (1991 remix)
2. Crescent Noon
3. Sailing On the Tide
4. I Believe You
5. Now
6. (I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You
7. We've Only Just Begun (1991 remix)
8. This Masquerade
9. Goofus
10. Two Lives
11. B'wana She No Home
12. Another Song (1994 remix)
13. Can't Smile Without You (single version)
14. I'll Never Fall In Love Again
15. All You Get From Love is a Love Song

Disc Five: By and By

1. I Just Fall In Love Again
2. It's Going to Take Some Time (1991 remix)
3. Love Me for What I Am
4. Ticket to Ride (1973 version)
5. Honolulu City Lights
6. Love is Surrender (1987 remix)
7. Maybe It's You (1990 remix)
8. (A Place to) Hideaway
9. Crystal Lullaby (1987 remix)
10. Bless the Beasts and Children (1985 remix)
11. Where Do I Go From Here
12. Turn Away
13. Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore
14. Baby It's You (1987 remix)
15. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing

Disc Six: Someday

1. A Song for You (1987 remix)
2. Boat to Sail
3. (Want You) Back In My Life Again
4. When You've Got What It Takes
5. Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)
6. When I Fall In Love
7. Heather
8. Road Ode (1990 remix)
9. Aurora
10. Please Mr. Postman (1991 remix)
11. Reason to Believe (1987 remix)
12. For All We Know (1991 remix)
13. Let Me Be the One (1990 remix edit)
14. I Can Dream Can't I
15. Look to Your Dreams

Buy from Amazon:
Japanese mail-order CD release

This is perhaps the most unusual collection of Carpenters songs ever released. For one thing, it's the largest compilation of songs ever issued. It also contains many tracks which have never been anthologized before. Then there's the fact that the CD covers have nothing whatsoever to do with Karen and Richard; they are just watercolor-style paintings of California-looking scenes.

This is an officially authorized release, though. Richard Carpenter personally picked the songs for each disc and wrote a brief introduction for all the discs, explaining what the theme of the disc is.

Apparently this set was only available by mail from a company in Japan. It appears that the discs were released individually in 1994 and 1995, and then sold as a complete set after that. The complete set comes in a cardboard box with the name Sweet Memory on it, but without the Carpenters' logo.

For the most part, there isn't much new or different in this collection, with one major exception -- there is a new remix of "Another Song," this remix having never appeared on any other compilation. This remix is significant in that the bass part has been completely re-recorded, and it sounds quite different from the original.

A semi-rarity on this compilation is the single version of "Make Believe It's Your First Time," which does not have Karen's spoken "I have to get into a serious mood here" at the beginning. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" doesn't have Richard's count-in, either. And the version of "Let Me Be the One" included here is an edited version of the 1990 remix found on From the Top, making the song resemble the original version but including the re-recorded piano part.

Here are Richard Carpenter's introductions to each disc:

Disc One: All At Once
"The songs chosen for disc one of this anthology reflect feelings of infatuation, love and an overall joie de vivre."

Disc Two: Those Days
"The songs chosen for disc two of this anthology speak of reflection , reminiscing and at times a yearning for the past."

Disc Three: On and Off
"The songs chosen for disc three of this anthology reflect the different emotions one may experience in a relationship."

Disc Four: At Last
"The songs chosen for disc four of this anthology at times express the feelings of some as they pass from adolescence into adulthood; the experience of stepping into a new world."

Disc Five: By and By
"The songs chosen for disc five of this anthology reflect the vulnerability people can at times experience within a relationship, and the pluck and determination that can be exhibited to get on with one's life."

Disc Six: Someday
"The songs chosen for disc six of this anthology reflect a feeling of hope; at times during or following a painful experience."

Other than these notes, there is very little by way of English liner notes. All the lyrics are provided in English and Japanese, and there are other notes in Japanese about each album, but nothing more is in English.

This is an exceedingly rare collection, so used copies (when available) can be pricey. As of this writing, there was at least one used copy available at Amazon.

Produced by Richard Carpenter, Karen Carpenter and Jack Daugherty

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